Barah Maha (Mahala 5)

Guru Arjan Sahib

Delivering the message through the month of Phagan (mid-February to mid-March), Guru Arjan describes how we bloom in anticipation of spring. Message through the month of Phagan: The arising of bliss has happened, dearest Friend, Hari, having come, has become evident. As the season of Magh gives way, a sense of joy begins to fill the air. The warmth of new beginnings stirs excitement within us as festivals bring with them the promise of renewal and connection. The world around us awakens, the trees and flowers bloom, and the mind experiences a fresh burst of hope. As we anticipate the Spring in the next stanza, with its vibrant colors and the fragrance of new life, it is not just a change in season—it is a metaphor for the feelings of the inner landscape of the seeker who has found eternal companionship with Hari, the Friend, the Divine-Groom, IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). Guru Arjan speaks to us through the imagery of this seasonal shift, drawing a parallel between the physical transformation of nature and the inner transformation. After a year spent in the pain of separation, Chet approaches once more, and separation is dissolved. The songs sung during this springtime and the festivals celebrated are all external expressions of inner joy. True happiness, Guru Arjan teaches us, is not found in external festivities but in the intimate and tender connection with Ram, the beautiful and charming One, IkOankar, through the company of Wisdom (Guru)-centered truthful beings. The cultural reference to the union of a bride and her bridegroom illustrates the stirring anticipation, profound desire, and ultimate bliss of an eternal union with the Divine-Groom. Historically, across South Asia, women did not often have the freedom to choose their husbands, but when that wish is fulfilled, the joy is immense. Guru Arjan speaks of the divine union, and through this union, the heart of the seeker-bride is filled with boundless joy. The songs she sings, celebrating this connection, are sung with her companions, reflecting the joy after union with the One. In this context, the union with the Divine-Groom is like a joyful marriage, where the mind—the metaphorical ‘bed’—becomes the place of tender and intimate connection with the One. All grief and longing dissolve in this state, and the self finds its true rest. An unpleasant conjugal bed, which symbolizes loneliness or abandonment, is transformed here into the source of ultimate joy and fulfillment because the beloved One is present. The longing for separation vanishes, and only union remains. This joyous union is not a fleeting celebration; it is eternal. The seeker-bride that has found the beloved One no longer knows sorrow. Everything the seeker desires is received in the company of the Divine-Groom. This is a state where joy flows continuously, unbroken, as we sing together with the seeker-bride praises of the One in endless celebration. The immaculate Divine-Groom is full of virtues, and no amounts of praise suffice the description of That One’s glory. At the fulfillment of this long-anticipated desire, we fall to the feet of our beloved One, who lovingly accepts us. Unlike the fleeting joy of festivals like Basant, the joy of this union is constant and eternal. It is a joy that transcends the cycle of life and death, leading us beyond the suffering of this world. Guru Arjan invites us to reflect on this ultimate union, where, having found the beloved One, songs in eternal bliss are sung. The physical world and its fleeting joys pale compared to the eternal joy of being united with the One. As two clouds float into one another, merging so wholly they become indistinguishable, so is our union with the beloved One. The month of Phagun teaches us to constantly remember and praise the supreme One in every moment—praising the One who is free from all vice and blemish, for without the Divine-Groom, we are nothing.

In our lives, we often seek companionship, yet we tend to understand it through the lens of transactional relationships. But after witnessing the beauty of a union where one merges entirely with another, we are gently invited to reflect: what should the foundation of the unions we seek truly be? As the yearly cycle completes another lap, how can we align ourselves with the beloved One so wholly that the boundaries between us and the beloved One dissipate?